By RYAN ARENA

L’Observateur

West St. John’s defense has been a stingy unit all season, but Donaldsonville’s spread option attack had a wrinkle to it that the Rams just weren’t ready for.

The no-huddle Tiger attack led to 290 rushing yards and 44 points as Donaldsonville trounced the Rams 44-6 at Donaldsonville on Friday night.

The Tigers moved up to fifth in the Class 2A rankings, up from its previous ranking of six. West St. John moved down to seven, after being tied for fourth in Class 1A.

West St. John coach Robert Valdez says the no huddle, combined with Donaldsonville’s athleticism at the skill positions, posed plenty of issues for his team.

“We’ve got kids that play both ways, so it wore us out,” said Valdez. “They play that Florida-type of offense, and with their quarterback and running back, they run it real well. It can be tough to prepare for, them running a play every 10-15 seconds, when you aren’t accustomed to it.”

Compounding the issue was that WSJ was missing a number of starters.

“It wasn’t our best effort,” said Valdez. “Having everyone here probably helps, but others need to step up when this is the case.”

Donaldsonville’s Bryant Dunn rushed for 176 yards and a touchdown. Quarterback Devon Breaux added three touchdowns – two via the air – and 61 rushing yards.

West St. John was badly hurt by turnovers. Two Tiger touchdowns came on defensive plays – an interception and a fumble recovery for scores. A third giveaway – on a muffed catch on a kickoff — set up another Tiger score.

“No matter who you play, when you give away 21 points on turnovers, you’re in too deep a hole,” said Valdez.

Dunn scored the first points of the game in the first quarter on a 24-yard run. Jamar Landry’s two-point run made it 8-0. The Rams struck on the ensuing kickoff, as Kenneth Dabney romped for an 87-yard score to make it 8-6 after a failed two point attempt.

But that was the highlight for the Rams, as Donaldsonville started to roll. Breaux passed for a touchdown and ran for two others before the end of the first quarter.

Trevel Dunn’s 90-yard interception return pushed Donaldsonville ahead 38-6.

Then after a high snap that rolled into the endzone, Brian Foster recovered to make it 44-6 after a two-point conversion.

“We’ll regroup,” said Valdez. “We want to challenge ourselves in predistrict. And that team will make some noise.”